Chapter 37 – A Date Underneath The Stars

Ooo

A few hours later, Izzie woke up and hopped off from the bed. She stretched her hands over her head. "That was a good nap." She smiled with her eyes still closed. But she opened them, she saw everyone looking at her worriedly. Then she noticed where she was. "Why am I in the hospital wing?" She looked behind her and saw Regulus pushing himself up from the bed where she had been lying in. "Reg, are you okay?"

"Izzie." Remus came over and put his hands on her shoulder, pushing her slightly down. "You don't remember what happened?"

"I was talking to Professor Flitwick." She frowned as she looked up to Remus. "And I went outside, I needed a bit a fresh air, I wasn't feeling that fell but that was the last of it. Why?"

Remus didn't answer, but she turned when she heard Sirius voice, and her heart involuntarily skipped a beat. "Reg, what do you remember?"

"I was at potions, with had a double. And I wasn't feeling that well either, not for the past few hours and then I woke up just now, like Isabelle."

"What's going on?" Izzie asked as she leaned against Remus. Remus shifted until they were sitting against the headboard, Remus left leg hung outside the bed.

"Sirius figured out something about the ceremony." James said apprehensively.

Reg and Izzie turned their heads towards Sirius in unison. So, he started telling them his suspicion. Izzie and Regulus frowned as they took in this information. Then they turned to look at each other and at the same time they said.

"The Latin phrase!"

"It must be." Regulus said.

The two of them started to converse in low whispers while the others looked at them with raised eyebrows. None of them could follow their conversation. It was in a fast speed, with short sentences, inaudible words.

"It looks like they have their own language." Evan mused with a chuckle. That made Izzie and Regulus snap out of it.

"Sorry, Reg and I -"

"It's okay, you don't have to explain." Remus kissed the top of her head. She smiled softly up at him before nuzzling her nose in his chest.

"It makes sense what Sirius said." Regulus spoke, breaking the silence. "Isabelle and I – We need to do research first, but I think we're on the right track."

"Uhm -" Remus scratched his neck nervously. "We kinda told Professor McGonagall and Pomfrey."

"What?!" Izzie nearly pushed Remus out of the bed.

"We had to, you two fell unconscious in class at the same time. They knew something was up." Remus said defensively. "Besides they can help."

"I- fine." Izzie crossed her arms over her chest. Sirius couldn't help but smile at her stubbornness. "So, Reg and I need to touch each other every hour or so, otherwise..."

"Otherwise, you fall unconscious again or worse." Lily said. "Did you feel your magic drain?"

"I did." They both said with a frown.

"But I wasn't sure it was connected to touching each other." Izzie said as she summoned a piece of parchment and started to write things down. "Can I go back to class?"

"No, Pomfrey was adamant you two stay here until dinner."

"Everyone worries too much. We're fine now, we can go to class." Izzie huffed. Regulus laughed softly and wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close.

"It's just the first day of class, love. You won't miss a thing." He kissed her temple. Oh, how Sirius wanted to take his brother's place.

OoO

The presents they gotten from Pureblood families were all useless trinkets and artifacts. They gathered them all in a box and shoved it in a corner. Izzie and Sirius's first date had to be cancelled due to a thunderstorm that night. Izzie was happy that Sirius decided to spend time in their private quarters but with Remus and Regulus already there, they didn't get any alone time, so they ended up continuing their research. She did have her yearly tradition with Remus in the Astronomy tower, but it was of course, cut short by the fact that her magic was starting to drain. She loved her friends for trying to figure out what was happening, but still she felt a distance between them. Not just with Sirius, who was physically untouchable but with the others also.

A few weeks passed without incident; Izzie and Regulus found a way they could see each other between classes, even though it was for a few seconds. It was the start of October and Izzie felt nervous as she got ready for her date with Sirius. Since Izzie and Sirius were going to the Astronomy tower, Reg and Remus had a date for themselves.

"Make sure you're back within two hours, okay?" Reg said as he was nervously getting ready himself. "We don't want to repeat what happened a few weeks ago."

"I'll be back. It's not like Sirius and I can do anything. Unlike you and Remus." She grinned as she nudged his side. "Just put on some clean sheets."

"Isabelle!" He gasped and she couldn't help but snicker. There was a soft knock on their door. Izzie was still snickering when she opened the door.

"Hello, boys."

"What's so funny?" Sirius asked as Remus leaned down to kiss her cheek.

"Oh." She smiled and looked over her shoulder to a blushing Regulus. "Nothing you want to hear about your brother."

Sirius scrunched up his nose and she wanted to walk up to him and kiss it, but with an internal sigh, she held back. "Now I have an image in my mind, I can't get rid of." He shook his head. "Are you ready?"

"Yes. You two better are done when we get back or put a sock on the door or something."

Both boys started to splutter and blush as she and Sirius walked out. They walked as close as possible without touching. It was getting harder by the day. During class they didn't sit together in case they would bump against each other, same was for when they sat together at the great hall. She chose to sit at the Slytherin table the first week, but then opted to switch between the two tables as she missed her friends. She tried to convince Reg to join her at the Gryffindor table, but he wasn't ready just yet. So, they were only close when he came over in their living quarters or the short time she could spare to go to the tower. They walked in silence to the Astronomy tower and Izzie gasped a little in surprise when she saw a large blanket on the ground, surrounded by candles and a bowl of her favourite fruits.

"Sirius."

"I wanted to do something special for our first official date."

"This is amazing, thank you." She leaned closer and her lips hovered over his, their breathes mixed with each other but again without touching. They sat down on the blanket close to each other. She popped in a strawberry before when Sirius spoke up nervously.

"I was wondering..." He rubbed his neck. "You and Remus have history and you come up here with him often..."

"Nothing ever happened up here, not with Remus, not with anyone." She saw his shoulders slump in relief. "What about you? Did you bring any girls here?"

"No." He said as he played with a blueberry in his hand.

"Really?" Her eyes shot up in surprise. "Why is that? This place sure is a panty dropper."

Sirius glanced up to the stars. "The view reminds me a lot of the view at home, on the roof. It's something private. And I've never had someone special enough to share it with, just like my spot at Grimmauld."

"Oh." She knew she was blushing and turned her gaze skywards. "Thank you again, for sharing your stargazing secret with me."

"You should know by now; I'll share anything with you."

She turned her head back towards Sirius, who was already gazing at her. Her heartbeat went faster, and her hands went clammy. "Yeah, I'm starting to see that."

They stared at each other for a long moment, grey eyes fixed on blue ones. They both wanted to lean in, and they both had hard time holding back. "So." She cleared her throat. "When is the first quidditch game?"

"I thought you didn't like quidditch." Sirius gave her a lopsided grin.

"I don't but you do. And I wouldn't mind seeing you in a quidditch uniform." She winked.

"Oh, well that's going to be problem."

"How so?" She cocked her head curiously and Sirius loved that look on her.

"I'm not on the Quidditch team anymore."

"What? Why? Did a prank go wrong and were you thrown off?"

"No." He chuckled. "I decided to quit. I was just a replacement last year and I have better things to do right now anyway."

"You didn't quit for me, did you?"

"I'm not going to lie to you. You are part of the reason." Izzie was about to protest, so he quickly continued. "I need to fix this. For you, for Reggie. This is all my fault, and I'm not going to rest until I find a way out of this."

Izzie groaned and jumped up. She started to pace in front of him, her head buried in her hands. Sirius pushed himself up too, watching her stride by.

"I'm sorry if I upset you."

Izzie laughed. "You didn't upset me. I just – I want-" She screamed in her hands. Then she dropped them, and her eyes were darkened. Before he knew it, she had wrapped her arms around his neck. Despite the invisible push, he wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her face in his neck.

"Fuck! I've missed this." He murmured.

"Me too." She placed a kiss on his neck before quickly unwrapping herself from him and stepping back as she felt her magic pushing him harder away.

"I hate this." Sirius leaned over the railing as his eyes scanned over the stars. She only hummed in agreement as she stood next to him.

"What is your constellation?" She asked, trying to lighten the mood. Sirius leaned closer as far as he could as he started to point at the stars above them. Showing her his constellation, Regulus's and all of his favourites.

After an hour and half, they reluctantly made their way back to Izzie's room. Her magic was draining quickly. "I was curious about something. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"Alright, what's the question?" She asked with a little smile.

"Why does Barty call you Belle?"

Izzie chuckled. "Barty may be a pureblood, but he likes muggle books. Have you heard of Beauty and the Beast?" Sirius shook his head. "It's one of his favourites, the leading lady is called Belle. And since my name is Isa-Belle, he started calling me that a few days after we started dating. And it just sort of stuck." She shrugged. "Do you mind?"

"No, I may feel a little bit of jealousy that he has an own nickname for you, but I know what I feel for you. And that -" They reached the portrait. Sirius placed his hands on either side of her head as she leaned against the fruit tree. His head rest just above the crook of her neck, and she could feel his warm breath ghost over her skin. "One day we will have a future together, that one day I will be able to taste those lips again."

Izzie was both breathing heavily, and her breathing was catching in her throat. Sirius was so close, but she wasn't able to touch him, which made her nearly lose it. "You're not making this easier." She whispered.

"I know." He pulled back, taking a large step backwards. "I'm sorry."

She closed her eyes taking in a deep breath. "I had fun tonight." She smiled when she opened her eyes. Sirius was beaming back at her.

"Me too. I've never had a date like this before."

"A date without kissing?" She quirked an eyebrow.

"No!" He looked horrified, then he looked to the ground. "Yes, actually but that's not what I meant."

She stepped closer to him, her hand ghosted over his cheek making him look up. "I know what you meant. I was just teasing." Something flickered in his eyes. "Sirius, why do you have such a hard time with it? It's your past. It is what made you, you."

"No, there are a lot of things that made me who I am, but not my past hook-ups."

"Sirius-" They heard footsteps come closer. She turned around and tapped the fruits before they stepped in. Regulus and Remus were cuddled together on the couch, but they were dressed, thankfully. "Hello, boys." She waved as she walked past them to the bedroom. "Sirius, get in."

"What are you two doing?"

"You know we can't do anything. I just need to talk to him privately." She reached her hand out to Regulus and they both felt recharged. She smiled at him before she walked inside the bedroom. After she closed the door, she put on a privacy spell for good measure. "Can you sit?"

When Sirius sat down on the end of the bed, she kneeled down in front of him. "Why do you care so much about it?"

"I don't know." He looked at his knees. "I never really thought about it, until you. I know you said you don't care about my past -"

"I don't. I didn't really know you then."

"I think my whoring around, that's how Remus liked to call it, was something to forget about my troubles at home. And I just wished I had another way to deal with it because I don't want you to think you are just a number. I wished I had many of my firsts with you and nobody meant so much to me as you do."

"And that's another reason why I don't think badly about your past. You needed to do it to move past it, even if you hate it right now. And I know I'm not just another number to you, you've proven that more than I can count. And I really believe we will have many firsts together, just not the obvious ones."

"You - you do?" He looked at her with tears in his eyes. "Like what?"

She chuckled lightly as she let her fingers ghosts over his lips. "Like the first time we can celebrate an anniversary together, the first time we go on vacation, little things like that. But the most important thing to remember is that everything we will do together will be a first, because the way we feel about each other is a first, at least for me." She looked down.

Sirius risked touching her cheek, making her look up. He could feel the invisible force pushing him away, but he held on. "You're right. Everything I do with you feels like a first time, because I'm so madly in love with you I can't think straight, and I never felt this way for anyone. I don't expect you to say it back. I know you need time and -"

Izzie had cast a wandless cushioning charm around the room before she let her lips crash against him. He had only a second to reply before he was flown back. He bounced softly against the wall. "Sorry, I just -"

Sirius smiled as he stood up. "It's okay. I wanted to do that for weeks. Thanks for the cushioning charm."

"Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm completely fine. Just disappointed it couldn't last a little longer." He smirked.

OoO

Merry Christmas!🎄